Indicating device



F. P. BLAIR, C. L. DOWS AND G. S. MERRILL. INDICATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 1919.

1,340,145. Patented May 18,1920

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INDICATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24- 1919.

18, 1920. SHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE.

FRANK P. BLAIR, OF TOLEDO, AND CHE-STER L DOWS AND GEORGE S. MERRILL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO; SAID DOWS ASSIGNOR TO SAID BLAIR AND MERRILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

INDICATING DEVICE.

Patented May 18, 1920.

Application filed July 24, 1919. Serial No. 312,888.

To all wlw/:tit may cum'cra.'

Be it known that we, FRANK l. BLAIR, of Toledo, county of Lucas, State of Chio, CI-Ins'rnR L. Dows, of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, and Gnoncn S. MERRILL, of Cleveland, county of C i ahoga, State of Ohio, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicating Devices, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to indicating devices and more particularly to such devices for use in hotels, theaters, oilices and similar places. lV-hile our inventionmay be readily used in other places, we have described it with reference to hotels in order to simplify the description. However, those skilled in the art will readily see how our invention may be utilized as a vacant seat indicator for theaters, absent employee indicator for time clock systems and for other like purn poses. y

At present, when a guest registers at a hotel, the clerk must look at his room rack to determine which rooms are 'acant before he can assign the guest a room of his choice. The room rack consists of card holders, one

' to each room, which are disposed in as small a space as possible. ll'heu a guest is assigned to a room, a card is placed in the corresponding holder and the card is re` moved when the guest leaves. In hotels which have but few rooms, the room rack is small and a search for a room usually does not consume sufiicient time to inconvenience the guest. In larger hotels where there are many rooms. and consequently the room rack is large, this search consumes some time which is annoying especially when there are a number of people. waiting to register. Furthermore. rooms which are vacant may be overlooked by the clerk or he may assign two guests to the same room because a card was not immediately placed in the room rack upon assignment of the room to a guest. Practical operation of this system depends upon the immediate inser- -tion of the card in the corresponding holder when a room is assigned.

Our object is to overcome the difficulties just described. A\ccording to our invention. the register clerk may quickly determine at a glance which rooms are vacant without overlooking any. Furthermore, if no rooms of the guests choice of price are available, the register clerk may, at the same time, locate vacant rooms of a price nearest to the choice. The successful opertion of our invention does not depend upon a card or check being inserted in the rack immediately upon the assignment of the room to a guest. Moreover, according to our method the apparatus may be quickly and conveniently checked up to locate faults or errors.

()ur invention consists in providing a plurality of rece1`)tacles for the room checks or cards, in providing a plurality of indic.- tors each corresponding to a card or check receptacle and in providing means whereby the insertion or removal of a check will cause a suitable indication to appear on the corresponding indicator. lVe prefer to accomplish this electrically and to utilize electric incandescent lamps as the indicating device but it will be apparent that it is within the scope of our invention to operate this system otherwise than by electrical energy and to utilize indicating devices other than electric incondescent lamps. We pre fer to carry out our invention by connecting all the room cheek receptacles to one supply conductor of a source of electrical energy and to connect the other supply conductor to one terminal of a number of electrically operated indicators whose other terminals are each independently, through a separate wire. connected to a terminal of a spring contact which is provided for each receptacle. The arrangement is such that the closing of the spring contact completes the electric circuit so that each indicator is controlled by the spring contact of the corresponding receptacle. When a room check is inserted in the receptacle, the spring contact is separated, the electric circuit broken and the indicator operated.

The indicators. so arranged that one indicator may not be confused with any other,

.may be contained within a few square feet of surface and the indicators of equal priced rooms may be grouped together. A number corresponding to the number of the room represented by an indicator is placed thereon so that when the indicator is operated to show an empty room. the number will be readily visible. When a guest registers. the clerk refers to the collected indicators and determines at a glance which rooms of the guests choice of price are vare specifically, for our indicators, to use electric lamps so confined ...le light from one lamp may not be ceainsed with a light from any other. The nps may thus be contained within a few square feet of surface area and the lamps of equal priced rooms may be grouped together. A light transmitting plate is placed over the top surface of the lamps, preferably Hush with the tcp of th/'e register clerks desk. and a number corresponding to the number of the room represented by a lamp is placed on the plate immediately over the lamp so that when the lamp is lighted, the number will be readily visible. If an assignment is made, the clel'k may tempo` rarily mark the indicator until the check clerk has had time to insert a check in the proper receptacle and thus to open the circuit of that particular indicator. The light transmitting plate may be of ground glass to furnish a suitable surface upon which to place the temporary mark. The register clerk may thus dispose rapidly of a large crowd of prospective guests without error.

By means of a device for shorting out the check receptacles and clips, each indicator may be connected directly across the source of energy and defective indicators be quickly detected. There lamps are used.l the shorting out device will show up burned out lamps and thus affords a ready means for testing out the system.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a'top plan view of an indicating means forming part of our invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the view of Fig. 2; Fig. et is a side elevation of a spacer part; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a fragment of a room rack forming part of our invention; Fig. (S is a sectional elevation on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a card holder; Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 g Fig. S) is a diagram showing electrical connections for carrying out our invention; Fig. 10 is a perspective View showing an arrangement of the parts comprised by our invention; and Fig. 11 is a top plan View of the shorting-out device for a group of lamps.

eferring to the drawing, the room rack 10 is provided with card or cheek holders 1l and bolts 12 electrically insulated from each other. Each bolt holds a metallic spring clip 18 so that it presses against and makes electrical contact with a single card or check holder, each card or check holder being cut away at 14 to prevent interference with clip and bolt for the card or check holder below and at 15 to permit ready access to its corresponding clip and bolt. Each card or check holder is in electrical contact with bus bars 16 which are electrically connected together to one ter- Vminal of the source of energy, for which we preferably use a transformer 1T although a set of batteries, a motor-generator or other source may be employed. Each bolt 12 is electrically connected through a wire 18 with one terminal of an incandescent lamp.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 8. the indicating means 18 consists of a carrier bed 1.() to which is fastened with the bolts 20 an elec,- trically non-conducting block 21, described more fully hereinafter, suitably spaced from the carrier bed by the spacing washers 22 to form a terminal chamber 23. Over the top of the block 21 is placed an electrically non-conducting plate 24 to which is attached a metallic contact plate 25 which makes electrical contact with one terminal of every lamp 26 through the socket shell 27 and with the second terminal of the transformer. The second terminal of each lamp makes electrical contact with similar contact bolts 28 electrically insulated from each other and also from the contact plate 25 by the nonconducting bushing 29 which with the contact bolt 28 serves to hold the socket shell 27 against the contact plate 25. Each contact bolt 28 is electrically connected to a bolt 12 on the room rack through the wire 18 previously described. Each lamp is confined within a section of the opaque crate-like spacer 30 over which is placed a plate 31 of transparent or translucent material. For the plate 31, we preferably use ground glass. For ventilation, the spacer strips are cut away at 32 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. A number, corresponding to the room number in the room rack, is placed on the plate 31 over the lamp connected to the card holder bearing that number. The scheme of wiring is shown in Fig. 9 in which a transformer is considered as the source of electrical energy. For convenience. and economy a switch 38 may be inserted between th(I source of energy and the lamps. 'ith th switch 33 turned on the lamp will be lighted until a room card 34: is inserted in the holder 11 of the room rack when the electrical contact between the clip 13 and holder 1l is broken leaving the lamp unlighted. For convenience, rooms ofthe same price may be grouped together thus greatly facilitating the search of the room clerk.

In order that the indicating means may be quickly and reliably checked. means have been provided to throw a group ot lamps directly across the line of the source ot' energy by shorting out the card holders and clips as shown in the wiring diagram of Fig. 9. In order to carry out this provision. the block 21 previously referred to. is rccessed under each lamp and from front to back between alternate rows of lamps as shown in Fig. 11. A. barrier remains between alternate rows and between the space. under each lamp. A metallic conductor 85,

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having attached on opposite sides pairs of spring contacts 36 spaced from each other according to the space between lamp centers; is placed in each lengthwiselgroove with a spring contact 36in a recess under each lamp. The conductors 35 are fastened at the back with a metallic. bar 3T and at the front with a bar 38 having a handle 39. The bars 3T and 38 are preferably attached so that when the bar 3T isjbrought against the block 2l thecontacts 36 touch and make electrical connection with the bolts 2e and when the bar 38 is against the block 2l the contacts 36 are separated from the bolts A28; A conductor 10 connects the bar 37 with that line of the source of energy which leads to the card or check holders. The plate 2l insulates the conductors 35 and contacts 8G from the metallic contact plate In operation, when a guest has specified the price he wishes to pay, the register clerk turns on the switch and locates a lighted number in the group of rooms of the guest`s choice of price. If he does not have such a room, he knows at once what others at the next step in price are available. 'lVhen the guest takes a room, the clerk puts a mark on the plate 31 over the lighted number until the card clerk has had an opportunity to make out the card and insert it in the holder 11 to break the circuit for that particular lamp.4 The marks on the numbers may be removed by the card clerk at the time he inserts the card in the holder. To check the indicating means for burned out lamps or other faults and errors, the handle 39 is pulled out permitting each lamp to be supplied with energy direct from the source. By lifting the plate 3l, access may be had to unlighted lamps which may be replaced readily by new lamps.

lVhat we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l, The combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards, a plurality of electrically operated indicators each corresponding to a receptacle and means whereby the insertion in or removal from the said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding indicator.

2. The combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards` an indicating means separate from said rack comprising a plurality of indicators each corresponding to a receptacle and means whereby the insertion in or removal from said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding indicator.

3. The combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards. a plurality of electrically operated indicators each corresponding to a receptacle, means whereby the insertion in or removal from said rack of a card eects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding indicator and means for individually supplying electrical energy when desired to a number of said indicators to test out their operativeness. i

l. the combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards'. a plurality ofjuxtaposed lamps each provided with means for restricting the direction of illumination therefrom and each correspol'id.- ing to a receptacle and means whereby the insertion in or removal from said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding lamp.

' 5. The combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards, a plurality` of juxtaposed lamps each provided with means having a light transmitting cover plate for restricting the direction of illumination therefrom and each corresponding to a receptacle and means whereby the insertion inor removal from said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding lamp. i

6. The combination of a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards` a plu rality of electric lamps each corresponding to a receptacle, means whereby the insertion in or removal from said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding lamp` a source of electrical energy the lirst terminal of'which is connected to the first terminal of said electric lamps and the second terminal of which is connected to said receptacles, and means for individually supplying the electrical energy when desired to a. number of said lamps to test out their operativenessv` said means comprising reciprocatable bars having thereon spring contacts said reciprocatable bars being electrically connected to the second terminal of said source of electrical energy and said spring contacts being electrically connected to the second terminal of said electric lamps.

7. The combination of ,a rack comprising a plurality of receptacles for cards. an indicating means separate from said rack comprising a plurality of indicators each corresponding to a receptacle and means comprising a metallic spring clip in electrical contact with said receptacle and capable of being electrically separated therefrom whereby the insertion -in or removal from said rack of a card effects a change in the electrical supply circuit of a corresponding indicator.

8. ln an electrical circuit` the combination of a source of electrical energv, a plurality of electric lamps electrically insulated from each other and means individual to each lamp for opening or closing the electrical supply circuit thereof comprising a card receptacle electrically connected to one terminal of the said source of electrical energy and a spring clip electrically connected to the second terminal of said source of electrical energy and adapted to he separated from said receptacle by the insertion of a card therein.

9. In an electrical circuit, the combination of a source of electrical energy, a plu .rality of electric lamps electrically insulated from each other, means individual to each lamp for opening or closinpr the electrical supply circuit thereof comprising a card receptacle electrically connected to one terminal of the sa id source of electrical energy and a spring clip electrically connected to' the second terminal of said source of electrical energy and adapted to be separated rom said receptacle by the insertion of a card in the latter and means for shorting out said receptacle and said clip to test out the operativeness of said indicators.

In Witness whereof We have hereunto set our hands this 12th and 16th days of July,

FRANK P. BLAIR. CHESTER L. DOVS. GEORGE S. MERRILL. 

